Undergraduate Course of Study

General Requirements
Undergraduate students in the Social Studies Education program must meet the course requirements described below. All courses must be passed with a C or better. Students must maintain a 2.75 GPA in order to remain in good standing. The methods courses must be taken sequentially, and anyone who does not earn a C or higher in the methods courses must repeat both the methods course and the co-requisite field experience. Students must also meet minimum requirements on the Teacher Candidate Professional Development Form. Students whose GPA falls below 2.75 will be placed on probation and may not register for additional teacher education courses until they are again in good standing. Students must also pass the student teaching interview before they will be granted permission to register for student teaching. For further information, see the PEP Guide to Teacher Education.

Click here to download the application form and here to download the undergraduate advising worksheet.

Content Area Requirements
Students must complete a minimum of 48 credits in history and the social sciences, including the courses required for the major and the University DEC requirements. Students are also required to take courses in each of the 12 Required Areas of Study described below. Students are expected to select their courses from the choices below, and substitutions will be permitted only on an exceptional basis. Transfer courses will be evaluated individually by the program director.

Asia & its Civilizations (choose 1)
HIS 219 Chinese History and Civilization
HIS 220 Japanese History and Civilization
HIS 227 Islamic Civilization
HIS 341 20th-Century China
HIS 344 Modern Japan
HIS 347 South Asia before Colonialism
HIS 348 British India

Africa (choose 1)
HIS 221 Modern Africa
HIS 346 Political and Social History of Africa

Note: Courses in world history may be used to satisfy one of the areas 6-8 if they address the history of that region in a substantive way. Courses in history, anthropology, economics, political science, and sociology will automatically count towards the 48 required credits. However, some of the courses offered through such interdisciplinary programs as Women’s Studies, Africana Studies, and Latin American and Caribbean Studies are considered humanities, rather than social science, courses. Click here to see which courses will be accepted for program credit.

Foreign Language Requirement
Students must complete one year of college level foreign language study. Undergraduates may satisfy this state requirement in two ways: